Pregame from Atlanta: Celts trying to finish strong

ATLANTA -- Expect no changes in approach tonight as the Celtics take on the Hawks here. With just five games left in the season, coach Brad Stevens isn't in the mood for any experimentation.

"We're just working like it's a normal game, and that's what we'll do for the last five," he said. "I think our couple of days of practice has been fairly encouraging, and hopefully we can play well tonight.

"We're not in the position we want to be in, there's no two ways around that. But at the same time, the mindsets have been pretty good for the most part. We're just emphasizing every detail, emphasizing the little things, talking about how we can get just a possession or two better and going from there."

To get out of here with a win tonight, the Celts will have to step up their defense against a team trying to hold onto the final playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

"The biggest thing about them is, if you let them play at their pace and spray the ball all over the court and they're making shots, you’re dead," Stevens said. "I think we saw that at Indiana on Sunday night (Atlanta won by 19). They are really moving the basketball."

In fact, the Hawks are one of the better clubs in the league for sharing the ball.

"In an ideal world from a coaching standpoint, teams move the ball like that," Stevens said. "Probably the most aesthetically pleasing team to watch are the Spurs, because of how quickly that ball pops around. And these guys have a lot of those attributes."

Which makes sense, in that new coach Mike Budenholzer came over from San Antonio.

"You think about Bud coming from there, it makes a lot of sense," said Stevens. "They've also changed how they play since (Al) Horford got hurt. They've become a lot more spread and open than they were before."